Heads Will Roll
by Painted Violets
Summary: "Someone once told him that peace was an allusion, and now Alfred could see that whoever that person was had been right. As he stands covered in blood of his friends and holds a broken bat over his head, Alfred can't help but wonder how things got this fucked up" (Apocalypse fic, later USUK, Rated T for gore and cursing, may be rated M later on)
1. Chapter 1

**So this will be the main fic that I'm working on, thanks for the reviews on my other one-shot! :) I've always wanted to do some kind of apocalyptic hetalia fic, so here is the start of it. Please _review_, I always appreciate constructive criticism, also if anyone is interested in beta-ing this, _please send me a PM_ :D Also, does anyone know Australia's human name?**

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Someone once told him that peace was an allusion, and now Alfred could see that whoever that person was had been right. As he stands covered in blood of his friends and holds a broken bat over his head, Alfred can't help but wonder how things got this fucked up. It seems like it was only weeks ago that everything was normal and happy, or as happy as things were back then.

It had been a Saturday, not even a pretty one, fucking hot actually. That day Australia was holding the UN meeting for once, and he remembered being pretty excited to hang out with him afterwards. Go crocodile hunting or something like that. That made him smile shakily as he swung the bat down on the thing's head, a loud crack filling the air. It didn't even faze him anymore.

He probably looked like shit, since the last time he bathed was about three weeks ago. He smiled again, imagining himself looking like the crazy psychopath that this war had turned him into. Finally there was nothing to hit, so he turned around and walked back to home-base.

Wasn't even a good home base, but it was better than anything. But when he neared the hastily built fort he heard the screams of someone, and felt cold, angry dread fill his body once again.

_Not again goddammit_

He broke off into a sprint and just hoped to hell that it wasn't anything serious.

"America, straighten your tie." A harsh whisper came from his side, and Alfred Jones turned to them, flashing a blinding smile. He leaned back in his seat, setting his phone down and exiting out of his Netflix app.

"Relax Artie, I'm not bothering anyone." He mock whispered back, earning him a sharp glare. Arthur fumed in frustration next to him before sighing irately, and leaning back into the green chair as well.

"You're a bloody mess." He half muttered to himself, crossing his arms. Alfred peaked up to see if Arthur was still looking at him, and when he knew he was in the clear, he allowed himself to study the British man's features.

His thick eyebrows were as furrowed as ever, his green eyes focused intently on whoever the hell was speaking at the moment. He looked tired, Alfred noticed, and even though he berated Alfred for his tie, he looked like a disheveled mess himself.

Okay, so maybe Arthur could pull off that look, but still.

He quickly looked away, hoped to god he wasn't blushing, and tried to pay attention to what Germany was saying. After two seconds of being completely lost and not knowing what ham had to do with space, he went back to Netflix to watch another episode of _Breaking Bad_.

Five minutes in Arthur flicked him on the shoulder, holding out his hand and pointedly looking at his phone. Alfred rolled his eyes, turning off the phone again and handing it to Arthur. Jesus, how was he not bored too?

The meeting slowly continued, Alfred choosing to inspect what the other nations were doing instead. On the other side of Arthur, Francis was having a quiet discussion with Matthew in French, and seemed to be angry out something.

Poor Mattie, having to listen to Francis talk all meeting. Wasn't very fair though that Arthur wasn't telling them to pay attention he thought grumpily, and looked to his left. Mexico and Spain were happily talking to each other, even though Mexico looked tired as hell. After the meeting he would have to be sure to see how she was doing.

Further down China and Russia were obviously playing pokemon, and Alfred couldn't help but feel a tad jealous. Why wasn't there anyone cool that would play pokemon next to him? He looked back to Arthur, and with narrowed eyes and a huff saw that now _he_ was on his phone texting someone.

"Why is it okay for you to text?" He asked, poking his side. "I want my phone back." He whines quietly, continuing to poke England as if that would give him what he wanted faster.

"Stop that you idiot, I'm texting the Prime Minister." Arthur shoots back, jabbing him back on the shoulder. "You should be paying attention anyway."

"What's up with the Minister?" Alfred leans forward, looking at the screen. Arthur covers it with his hand, glaring at the younger.

"Something important, so piss off." Alfred goes back to pouting, bored all over again. He hears a buzz come from England's pocket, and reaches for his phone. "Text whoever that is later, Alfred." He scolds, slapping his hand away.

"What if it's my boss?" He grins when Arthur huffs and gives him the phone, going back to his conversation with the Minister. Alfred looks down at his own phone, and to his surprise it actually _is_ the president texting him.

There are only three words, but that was enough to stop him cold.

"_Run like hell_"

A second later Arthur poked him, looking mildly concerned.

"Alfred, what is it?" He hisses, taking the phone and looking at the message. He breathes in deeply, and hands it back. "Is that some kind of joke?"

"It started as one but… it's the code now, for when shit goes to hell." Alfred explains, and quickly types back a reply. After ten minutes and there's no answer, Alfred swears loudly, standing up and stalking out of the conference room. Everyone watches him leave, and Canada quickly follows after him.

"Did you just get a text message too?" Matthew asks once they're in the hallway, looking over his shoulder.

"Yeah, from my boss." He nods shakily, and quickly dials the emergency number. After five tries someone finally picks up, and he can hear the sound of things breaking in the background.

"_Alfred?_!" A tiny voice cries, and it takes every ounce of control for him _not _to freak out.

"Addy? Is that you? I need to speak to your Dad, is he around?" He tries to keep calm, but the look of fear on Matthew's face causes a bit of him to freak out.

"_Alfred, where are you_?" The little girl sobs, and there's a sound of a door breaking, and then someone screams.

"Addy, calm down, holy shit, what's happening-?!" He says frantically into the phone, but only receives jumbled answers.

"_There are people eating Mr. Smith on the floor_." She whispers in horror, and starts to cry again. "_I don't want them to eat me!_"

"Adeline, please listen to me. You need to be very, _very_ quiet, okay? Just stop crying and calm down." Alfred says soothingly, and a minute later Arthur is out in the hallway too, asking Matthew what the hell was happening.

"_I just want to go home_." She whispers, and everything goes silent, except for the occasional whimper.

"If someone comes in and stops the bad people, go with them, okay?" He commands, sliding down the floor to sit down.

Three minutes later and Alfred can hear the little girl yell "_Daddy_!" and the sound of the phone being dropped.

"Adeline? Addy?!" He yells frantically, and listens for anything else. There's a groan, and another scream, this time Adeline's, cut off short and then a horrible, horrible sound of squelching and cracking. "_Oh my fucking god, Adeline_?" Alfred jumps to his feet, a massive headache coming on. "Adeline? Hello?! Anyone, _please_ pick up-" He begs, and when there's a hand on his shoulder, he feels pure terror and shock run through him.

"They're dead, _jesus,_ what am I going _to do."_ Alfred whispers, looking over at Arthur. He looks afraid, and clutching his own phone. Matthew stands a few feet behind, rapidly talking to someone in French over the phone.

"We need to get over to your place, and fast." Arthur says curtly, taking Alfred's hand. "Maybe there's a chance to save them."

"There are people _eatin_g each other Arthur, and you want to come with me?" Alfred can't help but laugh, because this is like a scene out of his shitty zombie movies.

"Of course, who else is going to protect your sorry ass?" He says gently, and takes the phone from America's fingers. "If this is something like, well, an i_nvasion_, then you need all the help you can get."

"I don't know if going to my place is the best thing to do." Alfred admits. "if there is something like a zombie apocalypse, then shouldn't all the nations stick together?"

"I think we should make an announcement." Arthur runs a hand through his hair. "What if this is happening in multiple places?"

"Yeah, uh, I will, right." Alfred shakes his head, and tries not to stumble into the room. Everyone is dead silent and looking at him, and he can see Mexico furiously texting to someone. Germany stops talking, and when Alfred whispers to him the situation, he steps off the podium and gives him a sad look.

"Right, so I don't want to freak anyone out, but I'm pretty sure a zombie invasion just occurred at my place." He says awkwardly, and Mexico turns pale, turning to Spain and whispering to him in Spanish.

"And how do you know that?" Japan raises his hand, and Alfred feels a pit in his stomach just opened up.

"I got… and emergency call from my boss. It sounded pretty bad." He has to stop and just breathe for a second, because reality is starting to rush in and _oh god they were dead, little Adeline and Mrs. K and his boss_-

"Excuse me for a second." He stumbles out, and barley makes it when the hysterical tears start. It's heart _wrenching _and his _chest hurts_, and he feels like his world is crashing around him, and he can practically _hear_ the hysteria rising from his people.

There's a hand rubbing on his back in small circles, and he doesn't even care that everyone is probably watching him and is maybe thinking that he's fucking insane. It doesn't matter because now that he thinks about it no plane will probably take him back to his place even if he wanted to.

An alarms starts to go off, and he can hear Mexico screaming in the conference room.

He forces himself to calm down, and pulls in whoever the hell decided to help him a huge hug, and rushes back into the room, now worried about Mexico and what he can _currently _do.

Spain is hovering over her yelling for an ambulance, and Romano is holding her head in his lap.

"What the hell is happening?" He demands, and pushes his way forward. "Let me see her." He kneels down next to the Italian, and horrified, notices the black veins popping from her head.

"Antonio, do you know who she was texting?"

"Her boss, they were talking about cannibals or something like that, do you think-?"

"This is spreading crazy fast." Romano muttered. "Didn't it just happen to Alfred seconds ago?"

"And Mathieu." Francis put in, leaning on the wall. "But he did not have those black vein lines."

"Do you think she's… turning?" Someone whispered, and the room fell silent again.

"Maybe everyone should back away." Germany said warily, and Feliciano put a hand on his brother's shoulder.

"Do you really think Miss Mexico is…?"

"There's no way. I mean, she wasn't bitten, right?" Alfred let out a forced laugh, trying to ease tension. "So we have nothing to worry about!"

The alarm continued during the silence, and the huge TV in the room flickered to life.

"_This is an emergency broadcast, North and South America have been hit with a wave of 'zombies', flights are being cancelled and mass hysteria is rising throughout the world, scientists are coming together to try to prevent further spreading_-" The person droned on, and clips were being shown of people in the Americas.

The things, these… zombies, were terrifying. Because the bodies weren't rotted like in movies, but still fresh and new. Some had chunks of their body missing, and covered in blood. Their eyes were pitch black, instead of the stereotypical milky white.

They were terrifying.

A gasp went through the room, nations turning away and pulling out their phones to call their individual leaders. Romano pulled away from Mexico fearfully, pulling Spain with him. No one said it, but Alfred knew what he had to do.

"We should put her somewhere enclosed." He said finally, standing up. "So if she does turn… she won't have the chance to bite anyone."

"But maybe the disease isn't transmitted through bite. What if it's a virus instead? Any of us could be infected." China said from the back of the room, shuffling his feet nervously. "I hate to say this but… should we really keep her in the same building as us?"

There was another alarm, cut off short, and then the room plunged into darkness.

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**Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia, only Mexico I guess?**

_**-Talia**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Second chapter already, but I had it done so I guessed I might as well put it up. Thank you for your reviews, which are much appreciated! Also, please PM me if you're interested in helping me beta this :)**

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Me only cruel immortality  
Consumes; I wither slowly in thine arms,  
Here at the quiet limit of the world,  
A white-hair'd shadow roaming like a dream  
The ever-silent spaces of the East,  
Far-folded mists, and gleaming halls of morn.

_-Tithonus by Tennyson_

There are startled yells, and when someone finally throws back the black-out curtain, the room illuminates with natural light. Outside is very much the same, the sun shining and the birds chirping, but there are no sounds of people anymore. Alfred looks out into the street, but there is no one walking around anymore, and the only signs of life are the fluttering birds.

"I need to leave, please excuse me, but I will not be taking part of the rest of the meeting." Switzerland says crisply, and a burst of murmurs erupt. "Maybe it would be best if we all returned to our homes." He says as an afterthought, closing his briefcase with a snap, and silently pads to the door. "We all have people to protect, do we not?"

There are silent agreements as other nations begin to apologize as well, and head out the door. Soon the only nations left in the room were Alfred, Arthur, Matthew, Francis, Antonio and Romano. There was a tiny moan from Mexico, and with a gesture Spain and Romano left the room as well.

"What should we do with her?" Matthew says quietly, kneeling down next to the unconscious nation. "We can't leave her here, obviously." He brushed her hair from her face, lightly running a finger over the extruding veins. "But we can't take her with us, can we?"

"I am…worried about what is happening to her. I am thinking that maybe it must have originated from her land, and now it's affecting her." Francis pauses, putting a hand on his shoulder. "But if she becomes one of those… _cannibale' _then she will be impossible to kill. Her immortality could be our downfall."

"And if we're infected, then we'll be impossible to kill." Arthur finished for him, and his face went hard and emotionless. "We should lock her up somewhere, but with a way that if she wakes up completely human then she can get out."

"The boiler room." Alfred suggested, running a hand through his hair and sighing shakily. "We can leave the key with her."

"_Dieu nous aide_" France muttered, looking away. "God help us."

"Help me lift her then." Arthur said determinedly, grabbing her legs. "Alfred, you have freakish strength, so help me." Alfred complied silently, holding her arms and body up. They maneuvered their way out of the door, France and Canada trailing behind.

"Did Australia leave? I didn't see him after the lights went out." Matthew said suddenly, making everyone stop. " Do you think he went to his boss?"

"I'll call him later. He probably panicked and ran out of the door." Arthur muttered, and pushed forward. "I bet that stupid git is probably trying to find the most dangerous animal he can find to attack these zombies."

"Which wouldn't be hard." Alfred tried to laugh, but he couldn't stop shaking. He hoped that Australia had something fearsome enough to battle those things. He also hoped that Adeline actually had found her very, very human father, or was at least safe.

But he wasn't trying to fool himself.

"So, what do we do after this?" He asked hesitantly, following Arthur down the stairs. "I mean, since I'm the hero I'll be the one to save the day-"

"Alfred, stop pretending. This is too serious." Arthur snapped tiredly, and the American felt something shatter inside of him. That was his last line of defense, how was he supposed to mentally handle anything if he didn't even believe in himself?

"Not pretending." He muttered back, and when they were finally to the basement he let Francis open the door for them. They laid Mexico on the ground and put a hoodie underneath her head, putting the key in her pocket.

She looked dead already, all the life gone from her face and her body cold to the touch. It was terrifying and horrible, but it had to be done. Alfred quickly pulled her into his arms, squeezing tight.

"I am so, so sorry Josefine, but I'll try to make everything better, okay? So hold tight." He murmured, and pulled away. A slip of paper fell out of her coat pocket, and when Alfred picked it up he felt like he was invading her privacy.

It was obviously from Antonio, his handwriting still a horrible scrawl. It was dotted with tears and make quickly, and was probably a good bye letter of some sort. He could only pick out a few words, but he knew that it was too personal for him to look further into.

"Should we leave a note?" Matthew asked from behind him. "If she wakes up I bet she'll be pretty confused."

"I think Antonio covered it." Alfred stood up, brushing off his pants. "We should probably go-"

"Shit!" Arthur cursed, almost giving Alfred a fucking heart attack.

"Holy fuck what?! Is it the zombies?!" Alfred asked hysterically, pulling Arthur away from the door and pulling him close. "What the hell is wrong?!"

"I just cut myself on something, jesus Alfred, calm the hell down." Arthur muttered, and rested his head on Alfred's chest before pulling away to show him. "See?" He said, showing him the little cut. "I'm perfectly fine." A drop of blood fell to the floor, and a second later there was a small groan from behind them.

"_Mon Dieu_, she's waking up." France warned, and Alfred jumped back. "I just saw her arm twitch."

"Alfred, I think we should leave." Matthew said softly, tugging on his arm. "If she turns out to be… well, you know, then I don't think you should see it."

"But what if she's just waking up? It would be a little rude if we just-"

_Groan_

"Sorry Mexico, I seriously love you and I hope you aren't a zombie." He squeaked, pulling them out and slamming the door shut with a bang. They waited for a few more minutes, and when they didn't hear anything Alfred finally admitted to himself that she probably wasn't going to wake up.

We should call Australia. Where else are we going to stay?" Arthur sighed, and pulled out his phone. He tapped on it for a while before his frown deepened, eyes shooting up to meet theirs. "It won't bloody turn on." He tried to explain, and had Francis pull out his phone. Seconds later and when his hadn't turned on either, Alfred started to panic again.

If phones didn't work and neither did everything else, then how was he supposed to contact his boss and his family? Eyes flickered to green, and he forced himself to remain calm.

"Probably ran out of battery. Let's just head back to the hotel." He tried, and started to walk up the stairs when there was a sudden bang on the boiler room door.

"Fuck." Matthew whispered, eyes flickering to Alfred. "I think we need to leave _now_."

"I-" Alfred swallowed deeply, frozen to the stairs, "I can't fucking do this." His throat was starting to seize, and the floor got blurry with tears.

"Alfred, calm down." A hand reached his, pulling him along and up the stairs. "Everything's fine." All he could do was nod dumbly, pushing the memories of Addy screaming to the back of his mind. "Let's just go upstairs and lock the door."

And so they did, Francis keeping a close eye on the two twins, Arthur pulling them both along, the Frenchman and him sharing a knowing look. It was sad and desperate, filled with hope that couldn't be given.

After they got to the main floor they all stumbled outside, the sun beating harshly on them. Matthew stopped, pulling out his phone and glaring at it.

"It won't turn on." He shoved it back into his pocket, trying to tell himself that the battery was just dead, and everything was fine of course. "It must be dead like the other phones."

"The others couldn't have left already." Alfred said hopefully, reaching his black convertible and opening the door. "No one's out right now anyway. It must be a lock down or something."

"Let's just find some actual people, and figure out what we're going to do." Arthur sighed, stepping in after him. Everyone was loaded into the car and waiting for it to start, but each time Alfred was unsuccessful to start it.

"_Jesus Christ_." He growled, hitting the steering wheel and slumping back. "Does nothing fucking work anymore?"

"I guess we're walking." France muttered grumpily, opening the car's door. "The hotel was that way, right?"

"I know where it is, just follow me." Matthew pulled on his hand, leading him down the street. "It's only a bit away, like a mile or something." Alfred crinkled his nose, shooting Matthew a look.

"I can't believe we have to walk." He complained, but after a slap on the head from England he shut up.

/~?/

A while later they finally made it to the hotel, and had still seen or heard no one. It was like they had simply disappeared. Occasionally Alfred would feel eyes on him, and have to stop and look around. It was unnerving and starting to piss him off. None of them mentioned Mexico or their predicament, but for now that was fine with him.

Instead he focused on how hot it was and how he was happy to be spending time with the three of them, even if it was for a totally fucked up reason. They were kinda like a family, Alfred mused to himself, almost laughing when he imagined Arthur in an apron.

Yep, totally sexy.

The hotel they were staying in showed no sign of line, but as they walked up they heard a certain German man yell at him,

"You there! Stop and put your hands up!"

Alfred rolled his eyes, and looked up at Switzerland, who was hanging out a second story window. He could see Lichtenstein standing behind him, and holy shit was that a sniper rifle?

"I thought you were going home!" Alfred yelled back up at him. "Has anyone else left yet?"

Switzerland was about to reply when Germany pushed him aside, leaned out and yelled,

"Come inside and we'll explain!" In that angry tough voice of his. Alfred gave him a mock salute and sauntered inside, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw the normal humans walking around and whispering to each other.

The others followed after him, Matthew mumbling about having to go and get his phone charger from his room. Francis followed the Canadian, leaving him and Arthur alone.

"Thanks for not letting me freak out." He said finally, breaking the silence. "I mean, I still am of course, but thanks for keeping it at bay."

Arthur looked surprised, but only nodded and turned his face away, obviously trying to hide his pleased little smile. Alfred just rolled his eyes affectingly and got out of the elevator, heading down the hallway to were Germany was.

Inside was mass chaos, random countries sitting on the bed and on the floor, all talking in the same quiet whisper. Spain was in the corner obviously trying very hard not to cry when he saw that Mexico was not with them, and Japan was quietly talking to a concerned looking China on the bed.

"Okay we're here, so what's up? Why aren't cars or phones working?" Alfred sat down on the floor, moving over for Arthur to sit next to him. Germany looked away sullenly, leaving the talking to Prussia, which didn't really seem like a good decision.

"There was a bomb released over the area. It stops everything electrical from working. Right now the city's on lock down and everyone's supposed to be inside. I'm surprised you weren't shot down walking in the street like that." He explained, leaning against the window. "What the hell were you guys doing anyway?"

"Moving Mexico to a safe location." Arthur said softly, looking at his feet. "I'm afraid she's… turned into whatever the hell those things are."

"_Oh dios porqué_" Spain moaned from his corner. "She was just fine a while ago!" He was shushed by Romano who gave him a hug, who just ended up being pulled next to Antonio.

"You locked her away, right?" Estonio asked from one of the beds, looking a tad awkward. "So that she won't get out."

"Where's Australia? He just seemed to… disappear." Alfred said quickly, ignoring Estonia. He didn't feel like thinking about those things right now.

"We thought he was with you?" Switzerland asked, setting the gun down. "If he is not, then were could he be?"

"Might have been headed to see his Minister before the power shut down." Prussia offered. "Maybe he got a text or something."

"Well, he better bloody well be okay." Arthur said irately, but the concern was obvious.

"We all hope so too."

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**Disclaimer: I own no one but Mexico :)**

**Please remember to review! xx**

_**-Talia**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Just a quick warning, this fic is going to have a lot of character death. Like a shit ton guys. So if you aren't prepared for people to drop like flies, I suggest you go and find a fluffier writer :3 But there is total fluff at the end and I'm like choking on it but sometimes you just need the fluff to survive. Please enjoy and please review, it makes me want to write faster ;)**

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When Matthew bursts in shouting about Australia and bodies, Alfred knew there was no pretending anymore. When he sees the look on Arthur's face as they're dragged down the hallway and down the stairs, he can't pretend that they're going to be okay. And when he sees Australia's dead body outside on the flag pole he knows that this is it, he's entered hell and there's no going back. He could pretend that his people in America were fine, that Mexico was fine, and that Australia wasn't hanging from the fucking pole with a noose around his neck. But he could not pretend that there weren't zombies surrounding the pole, screaming in hunger.

"Get the fuck back inside." Is all he can say before time slows down and they finally notice them, Arthur and Matthew and Ludwig who had ran after them. Those zombies with pitch black eyes that are now staring into his soul and starting to sprint after them, and when they get into the safety of the hotel they pound on the doors, faces smearing against the few windows. Thank god for Australia and his hotel with iron doors. But Australia was dead and wasn't there to be thanked, and Arthur was screaming vengeance, and Alfred was starting to become very, _very_ angry.

"Everyone upstairs now, no one is fucking leaving this building or coming in." Ludwig says sharply, and all Alfred can do is grab Arthur and Matthew by their hands and drag them after the German. Francis meets them halfway, throwing his arms around Matthew and demanding to know what was happening, but with one look at Arthur's very, _very _scary looking face he knew it was nothing good, nothing good at _all_.

Switzerland is the second to meet them, asking Germany if he can shoot down the zombies from there and be rid of them once for all. It's silently awkward because now there is no Australia to ask for permission, and all Arthur manages to say is to shoot them and make their deaths as painful as possible. Nations are all in the room now, focused on either the things outside or the body on the pole, and when they walk back in they all focus on them.

"Who was the last person to talk to Australia? I want details _now_." Alfred broke the silence, his face looking so menacing that it took a few seconds for someone to respond.

"I think I was. It was a couple minutes before the black out." Seychelles piped up, looking like she was going to have a meltdown. Alfred tried to calm down, and he nodded for her to continue. "We were talking about the situation. He… wanted to do something to help. He suggested that maybe the cause of this were the nations themselves. I mean, he thought that if a nation was doing badly they could internally cause something like an apocalypse to start all over again."

"Christians believe that their god destroyed the world when it became so corrupt. Are you suggesting that it was the nations instead?" Alfred asked incredulously, but it sorta made sense. He knew Mexico wasn't doing so hot anyway, but was it so bad that she set off this end of the world thing?

"Do nations even have the power to do that?" Natalia shot back, folding her arms. "Nothing like this has ever happened before. Unless someone older than I does?"

"The _Peste Noire."_ France interrupted, "The Black Plague. It all started with Central Asia, did it not?"

"I thought that the cause was sickness?" Matthew raised an eyebrow, "Scientists even know the reason why it began. And it didn't overtake the whole world, just parts of it."

"The Black Plague involved disease, but that was because of the _nocte daemones_." England smiled ruefully, his eyes dark with memories of the past. "The night demons came and spread death and evil. Humans of course do not remember this, because the evidence was lost in time and fables."

"I remember you would tell me stories of them." Alfred said quietly, half to himself. "Australia probably remembered the stories as well." He added, running a hand through his hair and pushing up his glasses.

"So these things aren't zombies, but night demons?" Natalia concluded, looking back out the window. "How did you defeat them?"

"We didn't." Germany said, startling everyone. He stood at the doorway, leaning against the frame with a gun in his hand. "The humans changed, so the attacks stopped. Time went on, and the demons were lost."

"And these aren't night demons." Feliciano added eyes wide, and surprisingly, holding his own gun. "Whatever they are, they're new. The night demons came from hell, but these are humans."

There was a murmur of agreement from multiple countries, and Switzerland raised his hand and said seriously,

"If I don't shoot them now then more people are going to get hurt. Permission to fire?" Alfred had to stop himself from laughing, because when did Switzerland ask _permission _to shoot anything?

Oh yeah, thought Alfred numbly, during a fucking _war_.

Germany nodded and multiple people covered their ears, and when he started shooting he pretended not to notice Arthur's silent tears. It was over in seconds, the horrible screeching that had gone on had come to a halt.

"So, what's the plan to get the hell out of here?" Alfred said, and noticed that some looked away. "We are sticking together, right?"

"We need to get boats first of all." Germany said quickly, resuming control. "Then we'll all go to our separate places, and meet up with our leaders."

Alfred stayed silent, fists clenching. They were hundreds of miles away from the coast, and if everyone was walking it would take a couple of days at least. And with zombies maybe running around, how was that much safer? And what if another nation got the same thing as Mexico, and then had to be locked up somewhere? And shouldn't someone contact Australia's government?

"I will not be accompanying you. Someone has to inform Oliver's government of his death." Arthur said stiffly, ignoring everyone's sympathetic glances. "And it would be best if I tried to explain the situation to them so they can put this land on lockdown."

"Will boats still be functional?" Japan brought up, resulting in nods of agreement. "If we cannot get off this island of a nation, then what will we do?"

"Build a boat, if we have to. I can still remember putting together my _barco_ during the pirate days." Spain sighed, eyes never moving from outside. "It will take a while, but if we work together…"

"We could sail to Asia, since it's the closest, and everyone could part ways from there. Unless anyone wanted to go to the Americas, but with the situation as it is…" Someone who Alfred could not remember their name spoke up, turning a little pink.

"I'm going with Arthur." He sighed, and prepared himself for his protesting.

"_If you think I'm just going to let you get killed too Alfred Jones, you are stupider than you look, because no one is dying anymore_-" Arthur screeched (as expected) and continued for a good five minutes before Alfred turned to look at him, and said ever so calmly,

"I am not leaving you to go off by yourself. " Alfred said gently, "You need me." And I need you too he thought quietly, but refused to bring that up.

"Alfred," Arthur began again, but he shook his head and flashed a blinding smile, probably failing to make his look calm and collected.

"Where am I supposed to go anyway?" He flicked him in the arm. "Protecting people is my job."

"We will stay here for the night and leave in the morning. Only bring what's needed." Ludwig finished, rubbing his forehead irately. "Meeting dismissed."

Nations shuffled out of the room in groups, slowly pushing Alfred back until he was standing in the hallway. Arthur met his gaze and held it almost defiantly, only breaking when Francis put a hand on his shoulder.

"_Angleterre_, I will be staying with you and _Amérique _for your journey. I know that Matthew will be staying with Alfred, so I do not see why we cannot all go together." He said quietly, and when Arthur didn't reply you could see his face grow sad. He whispered something in his ear, only turning away when Arthur bit back a choke.

"If any of you die I will personally bring you back and then kill you again." He threatened, green eyes flashing. "Now if you excuse me I need to take a hot shower and sleep for maybe ten years."

He stomped off, leaving the three of them in the hallway.

"I'll check on him later." Francis said softly, and went off to his own room. It was just Matthew and Alfred, and the sudden need to say nothing but yet everything was overwhelming.

"We'll get through this Mattie." Alfred said, staring at the floor.

"I know we will Al." He replied quietly, and then he was alone in the hallway.

/~?/

That night after a long, long bath Alfred could not possibly sleep. It was too quiet, no sounds of cars or the rustling of people outside his hotel room or even the sound of his phone occasionally ringing with an incoming text. It was horrible and he couldn't sleep. Not when every time he closed his eyes he saw Mexico leering at him or his boss and family back home, all dead or worse, killing other people.

After two hours he gave up, standing up and slipping on a t-shirt, padding out of the room and letting the door softly click shut. No one was in the hallway, but he thought he heard some whispers from a couple doors down.

He shrugged; understand that nations would probably stay with each other just in case. Made him feel a bit lonely now that he thought about it, and debated going to find someone. He left a note on the door in sharpie, not really caring that it was on the wood. I mean, who was gonna use this hotel anymore anyway?

He tried to remember which room was Arthur's, knowing he must be pretty upset right now. His chest ache as he thought of him crying angrily on the floor, hating everyone and scared out of his mind. He knew Oliver and him weren't that close, but they had still been family.

His mind drifted to wanting a smoke, and wondering if Gilbert had any left. So he opted to go there first, smoke to calm his nerves and then check up on Arthur. He wondered a few ways before knocking on the German brother's door, hoping to hell that Ludwig wouldn't be the one to answer.

Luckily it was Gilbert, and like he thought, was smoking a cigarettes. His red eyes lit up when he saw him, and he wordlessly invited Alfred in, closing the door behind him.

"Where's your brother?" Alfred asked, taking the cigarette that the other was holding out for him.

"With Feli, he was pretty freaked out and all. Antonio's with Roma and Francis is with Eyebrows, so I figured I'd smoke on my own." He shrugged, holding out the lighter. They stood in silence, letting the smoke curl above their heads.

"I bet Hungary wouldn't mind hanging out with you until morning." Alfred finally said, and looked at Gilbert. "I mean, Austria's sick, right? He's not even here."

Gilbert smiled ruefully, letting out a puff of smoke. "She's not here man."

"What?" Alfred looked at him to see if he was joking, but something changed in Prussia's eyes, and he felt that something was horribly wrong again.

"She left yesterday, after getting a text from Rodreich. Left on a boat that was heading over to Europe."

"Jesus Christ." Alfred muttered, looking at the floor. He knew what he was implying, and now that he knew that another one of his friends were lost he felt even colder. "Does anyone even know?"

"Didn't want to make the situation worse. West would've blown his shit if he knew. Only a matter of time of course until someone else notices." He shrugged, but Alfred felt hot anger again.

"When I find the person who shut down the power I'm going to crush their skull." Alfred growled, and crushed the cig against the wall.

"Leave them alive for me." Prussia said airily, crushing his own on the desk. "Gotta get some revenge in too."

"Go and find your brother Gilbert." Alfred ordered as he left, and tired not to notice the other's glossy eyes.

/~?/

Arthur and Francis were curled up together when he checked on them. It made him feel a bit better, but wished a little bit that he could crawl between them and pretend that everything was going to be fine. But there was a certain Canadian that he needed to check on before falling into oblivion.

As he closed the door, someone bumped against him. He looked up alarmed, but relaxed when he saw Matthew.

"Saw your note." He said quietly, and looked in the room. "Do you think they would mind?"

"Truthfully Mattie? I don't give a shit." He smiled, and slipped inside, holding the door open for his brother. "Just try not to hit any faces."

Alfred considered his best opening for a second before being beaten to it by Matthew, who carefully slipped under the covers and shuffled over to Francis. Alfred huffed, feigning annoyance, when Arthur woke up.

"What the bloody fuck are you two doing?" He grouched, glaring at him sleepily.

"Just go back to sleep Artie." He suppressed a smile and slipped in next to Matthew, curling up next to them. He sighed, letting himself un-tense, and when someone pulled up the covers he was already asleep.

* * *

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Hetalia boys (or girls)**

**Please review! And also I just need some cuddles, ya know. Try not to judge me too hard for it ;o**

_**- Talia**_


	4. Chapter 4

**I rewrote this like five times cause I might have killed like everyone cause I was pissed off a the time so I had to redo it lol. Also there might be Frozen references because I'm a fucking dork and so is Alfred. Always remember to review of course!**

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Alfred hates saying goodbye. He's never been good at it, so he tries to make it so he never has to. But this morning is filled with goodbyes and he doesn't think he can handle it. There are nations that he hasn't talked to in years, pulling him into hugs, clapping his back and wishing him the best of luck when just last week they were complaining about it. It was sappily heartwarming and that made it even worse.

But when his closer friends say goodbye his heart breaks and he can't help but pull each and every one of them into bone crushing hugs. Russia is weirdly the first one to say goodbye, and with all sincerity he wishes him good luck and hands him a sunflower. It's sweet and so he does give him a hug, knowing that things are fucking changing so he might as well get over the past and look to the future.

Spain follows quickly after that, both of them sharing meaningful glances and a very, very long hug (Spanish hugs are the best, don't you know that?). Feliciano has to be removed forcibly from him, and Japan surprises him for the first time in forever, giving him a quick hug. He maybe starts to sniffle a little, because if Japan is hugging anyone you know the world has truly gone to shit.

Denmark is slapping him on the back and joking about having to play sports sometimes, but his eyes never leave Norway and Iceland, hovering in worried protection. China is overdramatic as usual, Belgium is surprisingly sweet and hands him a bar of chocolate, winking as she leaves. Gilbert waits until everyone is done, just giving him a nod.

He nods back, and he knows that Gilbert will keep his promise and give the world hell. It takes England and France longer to say goodbye, Francis personally hugging each and every one of them, and manages to make a few cry.

"We'll be off then." Arthur says quickly, and when he stalks back to his room Alfred just _knows_ that he's freaking the fuck out. But he knows better than to make him face it, and heads back to his own room. It takes only minutes to get packed, thanking the gods that he had thought to bring his backpack. He packed some pills, clothes, and set his cell phone and charger in there.

He hoped the power would come back on.

He looked around the room once last time, sighing and running a hand through his hair. It was depressing and made him want to curl up in a corner. He looked in the mirror, grimacing at the way he looked. He looked like _shit_.

There was a knock at the door and Alfred sighed, not ready to face the upcoming storm. Francis says nothing and expects nothing back, holding his own bag and fingering with this cross necklace. His eyes keep darting behind him, like he's expecting there to be some zombie behind him.

"Ready?"

Francis slips a small smile, as if to say, 'are you an idiot _Amérique_? Of course I'm not, no one is'. But it's too late and Alfred feels like they have to leave _now_, or they'll end up here saying their goodbyes forever.

/~?/

It's fucking hot outside and Alfred sullenly wants to punch Oliver in the face. Like, who the hell decided it would be a great idea to have it be a zillion degrees outside? Australia apparently. Matthew looks like he was about to punch someone, which was starting to freak him out. On the other hand, Arthur looks like he's either about to start yelling or crying. Both are shitty, and if it happens Alfred doesn't really know what to do.

So instead he keeps up small talk with Francis, talking about nothing too serious, just monthly fashion and all the latest celebrity gossip. Alfred pretends that they're all still alive. Francis looks the most cheerful, considering the situation. Of course, he's a master in disguise, so Alfred tries not to be too fooled by it.

He trusts Arthur to know where the hell they're going, because not seeing anyone else walking around is starting to get to him, and it's only been two hours.

"-and Miley is a total god I think, the fact that she gets hate is fuckin' _ridiculous_-" Alfred rambles, but stops when he realizes that everyone has stopped. He turns around, a cold chill running through him. He suddenly feels hyper aware of the fact that they're practically walking around weaponless, like what the hell were they thinking, walking around like the world wasn't ending-

"When I get to three, run like hell to the nearest door." Arthur whispers calmly, eyes trained on something behind him. Sweat runs down his temple, his heart thudding like a drum, blood running in his ears- "One," He can't breathe oh god it's behind him, "two," why didn't Ivan give a fucking gun instead of a flower, "_three_."

_He sprints like all of hell is following him, which is practically true._

Matthew gets to the door first, yanking it open and almost breaking the handle. Francis crashes in after him, Alfred pushing Arthur to go _faster, faster damn you-_

Alfred slams the red door shut and thanks the gods for the invention of locks. He whirls to Arthur, who's checking up the stairs, and grabs his arm, rambling about bites and if he's hurt and if he's okay, what he saw and if they followed them.

"Alfred, I'm _fine_." Arthur finally snaps, and allows his gaze to soften. "No one got hurt, okay?"

"What the hell were _those things_?" Matthew demands, falling against the brown couch. They all stand in a tiny house, in the living room. It's dead silent and Alfred wonders if they should check for zombies.

"I assume that they were the dead, but I only caught a glimpse-"Francis shrugs, falling next to Matthew. "I think _Angleterre _got the best view." He looks to the other nation, raising an eyebrow. "But there is no pounding on the door, so could it have been normal humans?"

"If humans had fucking holes in their chests." Arthur snaps, glaring at the Frenchman. "There were three, and two of them had missing limbs."

"Do you think they saw us?" Matthew asks worriedly, "And shouldn't we have some sort of weapon?"

"Maybe they didn't?" Alfred suggested hopefully. "And I bet there are guns in here, it seems like a gun sort of house."

Francis eyes a picture of an older couple and rolls his eyes.

"It wouldn't hurt, I suppose." He said dryly, and stood back up. "But I doubt that the humans who lived here had guns."

"Maybe a baseball bat?"

"…let's just look, okay?"

It turned out that there _was _a baseball bat, thankfully not made out of wood. Mattie even managed to find a hockey stick, but it was so old that it broke in half the second he touched it. Instead he opted for a metal pole (broken off a broom, a nail left at the end for a better stabbing effect). Arthur decided to tie a kitchen knife on the end of another broom pole, and Francis just opted for his hand gun.

"Should I go check outside to see if they're still there?" Arthur sighed, peeking out the curtained window.

"We should all go, just in case." Francis shook his head, eyeing the outside warily. "Safety in numbers."

"And safety in the terrifyingly strong brother of mine." Matthew smirked, flicking Alfred in the bicep. "Maybe we should just let him fight them all."

"Ha, ha Matthew, hilarious." He poked back, laughing dryly. "You won't be laughing when I'm the one saving your dumb ass."

"Are you challenging me?"

"You think you can handle a challenge?"

"Challenge accepted then, hillbilly."

"This has been wonderful, but can we get going? This house is making me feel weird." Arthur says before Alfred can respond, giving them both The Look. Francis affectionately claps Alfred's back before shoving him out the door first.

He stumbles outside, too nervous to find Arthur's worried yells funny. After some seconds of standing completely still he heads out into the street, the rest of them following behind. There are no movements from behind the houses, and the block is totally silent.

"I think we're good." Alfred sighs in relief, still grasping the bat. "Let's just get the fuck out of here."

And so they do, completely unaware of the old couple standing at the doorway of the house they were just in, arms bitten off and guts hanging out, staring at them with gaping black eyes.

One of them groans, and returns inside the house.

/~?/

The sun starts to go down and Alfred has to think of facing these things in the dark. No one talks, walking down the empty freeway, with empty cars as their only company.

"Should we sleep in a car?" Matthew finally suggests, breaking the silence.

"Have you ever watched the Walking Dead?" Alfred snaps, "That's like an invitation to be eaten Mattie."

"Fine, fine." He grumbles, crossing his arms. "We're not planning on walking all night, are we?"

When no one bothers to answer he throws his hands up in the air, mumbling about idiots and death wishes. This goes on for another hour before he spots a town ahead, finally going quiet and sighing in relief.

By the time they enter the town the sun is almost gone, the stars and moon starting to appear. Arthur suggests a house between two shacks, and none of them are surprised to find the house empty. Francis locks the door, moves a shelf in front of it for "protection" and double checks all of the window locks. No one asks where the people are, and that makes everything easier.

Alfred is the one to find food, handing everyone some chips before Arthur slaps him lightly on the back of his head, and has to be stopped by Francis when he starts to "cook", claiming that he had the house's best interest in heart.

After a dinner of pasta (thanks to Francis claiming that they all needed real food) they all climbed upstairs to look for a bedroom. Alfred claims the one closest to the stairs, announcing that he'll be the one to protect them all, ("you sleep like a fucking log Alfred, you're not fooling anyone") and Arthur disappears into one of the back rooms.

Matthew and Francis agree to share the third room, ignoring Alfred's eyebrow wiggles, and slams the door on him. The house falls silent and there are no sounds except for whispering in French from Matthew and Francis, and years of horror movies decide to come back to him at that exact second.

He wills himself to stay in his own room, telling himself over and over that he refused to run over to Arthur because that was a sissy thing to do.

But then he had the brilliant idea that obviously _Arthur _was probably scared and needed him, so he didn't feel bad at all when he nabbed a pillow and stomped over to the other nation's room. The door was closed, and Alfred silently cursed it, suddenly having second thoughts.

If the door was closed obviously he didn't _want _anyone to come in.

But he thought of the movie Frozen and burst open the door anyway, silently whispering "_love is an open ddooooorrrr_~" to himself.

"Jesus _fucking Christ_ Alfred have you ever hear of knocking I swear to god you're an absolute git-" Arthur yells, and Alfred has to duck to avoid a pillow thrown at his face. He can't help but laugh, and can hear Francis laughing like an idiot next door.

He ignores the other's stuttering protests and flops on the bed, mumbling some half-assed response as to why he decided to just barge in like a _savage_ and hog up all the covers. After a while of complaining Arthur finally just huffs angrily and plops down next to him.

"Goodnight Alfred." He sighs.

"Night Artie." Alfred smiles, and falls asleep to the sound of quiet breathing.

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**Haaahh oh my god Frozen. Fluff at the end 'cause reasons, next chapter the real shit will begin, and we'll finally get some action**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia ; n ;**

_**-Talia**_


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys, thanks for your reviews xx I'm updating so soon bc I'm 'grounded' this week so I have no idea when I'll be able to update. So have this chapter instead :)**

* * *

Alfred wakes up with a body curled into his side, and he thinks that maybe the end of the world isn't so bad if he can live like this. He tries to burn in into his memory, careful not to move too much, the light streaming through the lace curtains. Birds chirp outside, and it's so peaceful that he could stay just like this forever, not worrying about shit. He burrows himself closer to Arthur's body, breathing in his sweet scent of tea and lavender, noticing that he kinda smells like smoke too. As long as Arthur doesn't stir he allows himself to look at every little imperfect perfection.

Like the fact that his shirt is bunched up and there are freckles and light scars peppering his back. The curve of his waist to his hips, his little feet curled up under Alfred's legs. But there are muscles that he never noticed, in his arms and thighs, which give him a stronger frame. Overall Alfred thinks that Arthur is a god among men, and feels like he's lucky as hell to know him like this.

But good things usually don't last, and it's not long until there's a knock on the door, and the spell is broken. Arthur groans in protest, turning away from Alfred, suddenly feeling cold from the lack of his heat. Alfred allows himself to pout before pushing himself up and out of bed, shaking his head and looking into the mirror. He looks better than he did yesterday, even though his hair is a bloody mess.

"What time is it?" Arthur mumbles from the bed, sitting up himself and rubbing his eyes. It's fucking adorable and Alfred finds himself unable to answer. "I fucking said, what time is it?" Arthur demands, and the adorableness vanishes. "Earth to Alfred!"

"Time to get up, we're giving you two a minute to get actual clothes on!" Matthew impishly yells at them, and he can hear Francis mutter something about 'English fucking Americans'. Alfred rolls his eyes and steps outside the room, shooting Matthew a look before going back to where he put his things last night.

"Yo Mattie, did you move my shit?" Alfred yells from the room, swearing to himself that he put his bag on the bed. Instead there's nothing, the room is practically empty, and all the doors are closed except for the bathroom door. Alfred stops breathing, distinctly remembering closing that door because it freaked him out last night.

"Alfred, what the hell are you talking about….?" Matthew stops talking, looking at his brother's horrified expression. He looks back out of the room at Francis with wide eyes, and it takes a minute for him to get his gun.

"I'm going to open the door, and if anything moves just shoot it in the head." Alfred says slowly, and can see the two European nations standing out in the hallway, clutching the baseball bat and makeshift spear. "Okay, ready?"

Matthew nods, moving closer to the door, and when Alfred flings it open he quickly inspects the room, but when nothing happens he visibly sags, turning around to glare at the other.

"Alfred Jones, don't ever do that again dammit-"

There's movement from behind the Canadian, and when Alfred pushes him out of the way he can feel it grab on to him. The others are yelling and when he can feel pressure on his arm, he goes commando mode and kicks the body off of him, scrambling to his feet and grabbing the nearest weapon, which happened to be lamp.

He smashed it against the others head, breathing quick and fast. There's a gunshot and a scream, and then everything stops. The world comes back to a stop, and reality takes hold again. He starts to understand that Arthur's probably yelling at him, but he can only focus on the thing in front of him.

It was obviously a human once, but zombies must have gotten to her, and now she was an armless monster with one black eye, the other eye gone out of its socket. She smells disgusting, like rot and old blood. She's only a teenage girl, blonde hair and tan skin, her clothes covered in brown and black blood.

Alfred swears out loud and drops the lamp to the floor.

Francis is the first one next to him, worriedly inspecting his arm for bite marks, or any sign of black veins. When he's satisfied he steps back, waving a hand in front of the American's face, but gets no response.

"Why didn't she attack up while we were asleep?" Alfred asks, raising a hand to fix his glasses.

No one knows the answer, and so no one says anything.

/~?/

They leave quickly, and when Alfred puts the town behind him and out of sight, he can finally breathe again. He tries not to think about what would have happened if he had stayed in that room, and silently thanked Arthur for not kicking him out.

All of them are now hyped up with adrenaline, and even the slightest movement makes a surge of fear rise up his throat. Francis has to stop and tell them that he only has two bullets left, and they should only be used for absolute emergencies. They all agree that using a bullet is for last resort purposes, and that's all they say for the next two hours.

Lunch rolls around and they have to stop for food, Alfred insisting they stop at a fast food place, even though Arthur snaps at him that there was no one to cook him anything. But they find some apples and some milk that is still cool, grab all the waters they can find, and take the cookies and pecans.

The whole time Francis and Matthew complain about how bad this shit if for them, but when their stomachs start grumbling Alfred just smirks at them and hands them some cookies and water. They walk for another couple of hours, and when Alfred finally asks Arthur if he knows where he's going, the older turns bright red, and Alfred feels his heart sink.

Then of course some dark clouds start coming towards them, and Alfred has no problem cursing the world out loud for thirty minutes. The of course it actually starts to rain, and Alfred can't help but laugh as Arthur curses him out.

The next time is a mile away so they have to run, and Alfred (once again) thanks his beautiful leg muscles and endurance. Surprisingly no one complains when they also start to run, and minutes later it's a race. Alfred laughs as he runs, looking behind him only to see Arthur pass him up and flip him off. He starts to get pissed off when they all end up passing him, and curses their tiny, lithe bodies (so maybe Canada is as muscular as him, but still!).

Francis smugly makes it the town first, and refuses to shut up about how great he is, earning a slap from Arthur and an eye roll from Matthew. But Alfred is a good sport about it, and only threatens him mildly.

Arthur finally says he doesn't want to stay in a house, and Alfred can't help but agree with him. What if zombies were hiding out in the bathrooms again? So Matthew suggests a supermarket, which has supplies that they need, and they could stay there while it rains. Francis readily agrees, and adds that they probably have weapons there that they could use. With the thought of weapons in mind Arthur finally complies, and follows them into the large building.

Alfred yells something about big sticks and runs off, making sure he had his baseball bat. No one tries to follow, and Alfred feels grateful for that. It's just a thing he likes to do alone, making weapons. He smashes in the cabinet for the hunting knives first, testing each of them out. They were all still sharp and clean, so Alfred took that as a good sign.

Next he looked at the cross-bows, and thanked Oliver silently for his still stocked markets. He grabbed on for Artie and got some extra arrows, and moved on. For Mattie he found a hockey stick for him to use, but with the thought of him with a hockey stick terrifying, he put it back and grabbed one of the larger knives.

For Francis he grabbed a shit ton of bullets, but when he looked in the gun cabinet he found it broken into and empty. Well then, so much for that plan. Alfred decided to keep using a bat, finding some nails to hammer into the wood. He admired his work, and then wondered how long that had taken him.

He started to get worried, so called out, "Hey guys, I'm done!"

No one answered, and he casually starting to freak out. He swung all the shit over his shoulder, silently creeping along the isles. Adrenaline flowed through his veins, his heart pumping wildly. He bit his lip, and when he rounded the corner there was a slicker of movement behind him, and shit went to hell.

Five surrounded him, and the smell of them almost killed him. He faltered for a second, allowing the closest one to go in for a hit, but Alfred had the upper hand with strength, and with one hit with the bat the zombie's skull was smashed in. Guts scattered everywhere, splattering his face with rotted blood.

"Alfred!" Someone yelled at him, and he whirled around after smashing in another zombie's head. Arthur was a bit busy with stabbing zombies (and oh god was he smiling?) and Matthew was trying to make his way towards him.

Something grabbed his arm, and time seemed to slow down. He was totally aware of how _huge_ its mouth was, and the teeth were basically jagged, and as it was about to bite down, there was a _bang_ and it jerked away, blood splattering all over his glasses.

"Thanks!" He yelled at Francis, and pushed him out of the way as a zombie came for the smiling nation, and swung down with a heavy crack. Minutes later and it was over, all of them panting heavily. Alfred swung off his back pack, and handed them the new found weapons just in case.

The bodies weren't moving, and after closer inspection, were found to be fully dead.

"How the fuck is there zombies already?" Arthur hissed, flexing the bow. "It's only been a couple days. None of us saw any movement, so how did they all turn?"

"Australia." Matthew said quietly, inspecting the blade, and giving it a practice slash.

"So you're implying that if a nation turns into a zombie, so will its people?" Francis raised an eyebrow, and Matthew shrugged.

"That's the best I got."

"Well either way, these zombies seem to be smarter than in the films. Maybe not faster, but they hunt in packs, and wait for an opening."

"I don't care if they can dance, as long as they stay far, far away from me." Alfred grumbled, and swung his pack back on his shoulder. "You guys get the food and water?" Matthew and Arthur held up their packs for him to see, and Francis quietly mentioned the fact that it was no longer raining

As they left a couple of shadows stepped out into the light, and with missing limbs they looked at each other, and disappeared from where they came.

"What if they're following us?" Matthew asked an hour later, and Alfred stopped walking, and looked at him seriously.

"Then we'll just have to be faster and smarter than them."

"But if they're _all _following us," Arthur said quietly, "then we might as well be walking corpses."

"Gotta be bitten for that to happen Artie, don't you watch TV?" Alfred smiled, clapping him on the back. "Which won't happen, so calm down."

"Optimistic asshole." Arthur muttered, and Francis laughed into the summer's breeze.

* * *

**So now we know what our zombie friends are up to, and also next chapter we'll be looking at someone else's point of view from the other group of nations. Also, reviewing is going to make me want to update much more :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia :O**

_**-Talia**_


	6. Chapter 6

**I managed to sneak downstairs and write this chapter (and watch the new teen wolf episode I'm still kinda pretty emotional from that). The first part of this is in Switzerland's point of view, and then we move back to Alfred. If you didn't know, Vash is Switzerland's human name, and Lilly is Lichtenstein's human name. I also have a happy little headcanon that she and Ivan like to hang out and talk about flowers :)**

**Warning: character death and slight gore**

* * *

The day they left the hotel was the day that the slaughter began for them. To Vash it was like another boring day in Australia, although two nations were dead and four were probably dead too. He was not surprised that Germany decided to take charge, his loud voice and demeanor practically screaming 'I'm a leader'. He did know though, that some were not particularly happy with the arrangement. Vash could care less, he trusted Germany to keep calm and make smart decisions, and Ludwig was terrifyingly strong anyway.

All he cared about was getting safely back to Europe with Lilly. So maybe there would be some deaths (he was pretty confident of that) but as long as they were okay he was happy. Okay maybe happy was a strong word, but he felt at least satisfied.

They left an hour after America, Canada, France and England parted ways, but he couldn't help but think that they wouldn't last two days. But there were benefits to having a smaller group he admitted to himself, and later had considered taking Lilly himself and grabbing a boat themselves.

But his duty to the others kept him there, and Lilly would be safer surrounded by giant nations like Ludwig and Ivan (Lilly herself had been talking to the Russian a lot, and hopefully he would prove to be a valuable ally). But he knew that they could only go so far, and had to make sure that he was there for her when she needed him. He remembered her covered in blood, looking at him with those lamb eyes and shooting their enemy in the face.

But three hours out of the city shit went to hell and the blood shed began.

The smaller nations went down first in the horde of the living dead, Germany yelling at everyone else to hold their positions and attack on his command. Some nations seemed to come alive in battle, Spain rushing past him with an axe, angrily cursing and screaming in Spanish. Denmark and Sweden seemed to be having a contest to see who killed the most zombies. Vash himself didn't flinch at all when the dead came for him, putting a bullet in each of their skulls.

Prussia was a bit much, laughing like a maniac as he went, never far from his younger brother. Lilly was fighting beside Ivan, the younger girl skillfully dodging and shooting (it seemed as though she was protecting him instead of him protecting her).The Asian nations moved together in fluid motions, though when India went down the world seemed to stop in silence before the wave turned into a tsunami. They killed everything in sight, and he was glad to not be by them.

The battle lasted for ten minutes, but when it was over and done it seemed that the huge group of nations had shrunk. Lilly was obviously okay and alive, worriedly looking over the Russian and his sisters. But there was the smell of death everywhere, and he could not say that everyone else was alive and well too.

His heart stopped when he saw Belgium, a chunk of her face gone and her legs sliced to ribbons, teeth marks marking her flesh. Netherlands seemed to have grown smaller as he held her, cursing to god. Spain sat next to him quietly, Romano looking at her with horror and shock.

It was painfully obvious that the Spanish nation had lost too much in a too short time.

And without looking back Antonio left, claiming that he was going to find the others (Vash winced when he included Mexico), and didn't complain when Romano tearfully announced he was going with him. There was a goodbye between the two Italian brothers, and when they disappeared he could practically see them walking to their graves.

"Brother, Germany wants to talk to the both of us." Lilly said quietly, tugging on his sleeve. He turned to her surprised, not noticing that she had come up behind him.

"Right, are you okay?" He said gently, eyes softening. She nodded, and asked him the same in return. He gave her a small smile and let her lead them to the German. Prussia stood next to them, shaking his head and gesturing wildly.

"-you'd be dumb to send them ahead, they're not going to survive alone dammit, I've already lost Antonio and Francis-"

"Bruder!" Ludwig said sharply, and when the albino noticed them, he fell silent, stalking off with one final glare.

"You wanted me?" Vash said coldly, tightening his grip on Lilly's hand. If Prussia had been talking about them…

"I have an assignment for both of you. We need someone to go ahead and scout for us." He said slowly, as if afraid of his reaction.

Lilly froze, and her grip tightened on his. Vash narrowed his eyes, and sighed deeply. He looked at her, and wondered if they would be better off here or there.

"I can't promise we'll come back."

"I know." Ludwig ran a hand through his hair. "I can't promise that we'll be there for you to come back to."

"All you have to do is leave signs, like if there's shelter nearby, if we need to avoid an area, etc." He explained, and when there was screaming his face darkened, and he turned away. "I need your answer Vash."

"We'll go." Lilly answered for him, and he looked down at her shocked.

"Lilly-" He started, but with a look he fell silent. But when he looked up Germany was already gone, and there was obviously not going to be any more goodbyes.

"Are you sure?"

"If I'm with you, I'm sure. And Brother… there is something wrong here. We would be better to leave."

"Like what kind of wrong?"

"I think the group is being followed." She said softly, and hoisted her gun and bag over her shoulder, and together they left and didn't look back.

/~?/

Francis suggested they keep on walking during the night, and Alfred didn't object, even though he was dead tired from walking all day and then fighting against fucking zombies. Arthur seemed to sag visibly, dark circles under his eyes. He tried not to remember the gleam in his eyes as he fought that afternoon, the way that he stabbed the things right where he knew it would immobilize them.

He wondered if that would happen to him and past battles would come back to him like nightmares.

Canada suggests a while later that they find somewhere to sleep, and that they take turns keeping watch. The town they're currently in is small and empty, but to be safe they choose the smallest house they can find.

Arthur offers to keep the first watch, and Alfred falls asleep to the sound of soft rain. He wakes up a while later with fingers softly combing his hair, and he decided that it doesn't bother him and actually feels nice and safe, so he lets sleep overcome him again.

Five hours later and it's his turn to keep watch, letting a bleary eyed Francis curl up next to Arthur and quickly fall asleep. Alfred quickly becomes bored, and runs his fingers through Arthur's soft hair, and hopes he doesn't mind either.

The sun rises soon enough and he knows it's time to go, shaking them all awake, whispering calming words when they tense up. He allows himself to eat a small breakfast before changing out of his blood-stained clothes.

An hour later and they're ready to leave, ready for the day and all of its challenges. They walk in the humid air quietly, and when Alfred suddenly stops and turns around to look back, he feels a horrible, horrible promotion.

"Some of them are dead. I can feel it, the world shifting. India, Belgium… and oh god, I think Ukraine are… just gone."

"Let's hope that you're wrong then." Matthew said wearily, and started to walk again. "We can't think like that Al, or we'll all go insane."

"Too late." Francis muttered, and that was that.

/~?/

At lunch Alfred suggested they tell stories from the past, just to give them something to talk about. Arthur's eyes lit up, and it made him feel better knowing that he had improved the situation _somehow_.

And so for the rest of the day they all talked about nothing in particular, Francis and Arthur bantering about past words and such. It gave them a sense of normalcy, and for that Alfred was grateful. Matthew looked a lot more calm, no longer clinging on to his knife like a lifeline.

It was an uneventful day for the first time in a while, and if he wanted to pretend that they were just on a hike to meet Australia, then he think he could. So he let himself dream, wondering for a while what river Oliver would want to explore this time, or what kinds of animal they would wrestle this time.

"-so we'll all stay here for the night… Alfred? Are you listening?" Arthur snaps, tugging on his arm. "Have you been listening at all for the past ten minutes?"

"Sorry, was thinking about crocodile hunting." Alfred said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "Are we stopping somewhere for the night?"

"Yes you git, would it kill you to pay attention once in a while?"

They looked for the smallest house possible, and after checking all the rooms and corners decided to set up, making a dinner of chips and salsa found in the pantry. It was disgusting but all they had, and all Alfred could think of was how much he would rather have Mexico eat it with them, complaining about how horrible the salsa was.

It made him fall into a sad silence, and when he was getting ready for bed he could feel Arthur's eyes boring into his back.

"Are you okay?" The older finally asked, when Francis and Matthew were gone from the room.

"Yeah Artie, I'm just… sad, I guess." He sighed, not bothering to cover it up with another fake smile. He felt like if he had to pretend for one more second that he would scream and probably break something.

"Alfred, our life is shit." Arthur says bluntly, and Alfred smiles ruefully. "If you weren't even a little sad I would be fucking worried."

"Yeah, well don't be worried, okay?" He moves to stand closer to him, and lightly touches his arm. "Cause I'm here and so is Mattie and Francis and we're all okay."

"You're a bullshiter." Arthur whispers, looking up at him.

"I know." He whispers back, and the urge to kiss him surges, and dear god he's been wanting this, but he's terrified of rejection, but Alfred is done with being terrified and he just wants to be _happy_-

But reality rushes back into the moment and it's ruined, and he knows that this isn't the time for this. His friends are dead, his people are dying, and here he is planning to kiss the man he's love for fucking _years_. He can hear his people's _screams_, their fears and anguish and _the pain in his head hurt so badly_-

Alfred collapses to his knees, putting his head in his hands and squeezing, trying to banish the storm that's in his head, and he can faintly hear Arthur yelling at him (again) and Matthew helping him up, Francis yelling for water and then being _held, so tight_ that it was like a shield, turning him away from _everything_, from reality and just how fucked up everything was, and after a few seconds the storm died down and he was able to just _breathe _again.

And he let himself stay in Arthur's arms because he was fucking selfish, because he couldn't face reality without crashing and burning so he let this become his everything, and in that moment Alfred F. Jones decided he was done faking, and let it all go, and just lived for his new reality.

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**Yooo so there's gonna be usuk in the next chapter, and probs a lot more gore. I should probably go and study for my german test but like,,, teen wolf. Anyway, thanks for your reviews, and everyone else who's reading is welcomed to review as well ;)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia .0.**

_**-Talia**_


	7. Chapter 7

**Spring break is here, so I'll be updating more often :D Sorry if there are any mistakes, I wrote this really quickly. There's more usuk in this chapter ;) Please review tho guys! **(and also, what do you guys feel about me changing this to M /bc of smut/)?

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As Alfred lay on the floor next to Arthur, he wondered how it had come to this. Why he had even bothered to fall in love when he knew that it wouldn't last. The groaning and screaming from upstairs had not stopped, and the American feared that it would be the last thing he heard. He had no idea where his brother or Francis was, hopefully safe and not dead. He didn't think he could make it if he had to kill them.

"The door won't last for much longer." The other nation said hollowly, breaking the silence. "We might as well try to just leave while we have the chance." Arthur looked him in the eye, his usually bright green eyes a dead dark color. Ever since they had discovered Oliver's boss's body, Arthur hadn't smiled, not even when they turned back on the electricity.

"Yeah, okay." Alfred said softly, sitting up and grabbing his bat. He paused for a moment, and felt his heart thump wildly. "Arthur?"

"Yes, Alfred?" The English nation looked up at him again, standing up and fiddling with his crossbow. Alfred felt his mouth grow dry, but he knew that it was now or never. If they didn't survive this… he wanted Arthur to know his… true feelings.

"I love you." He finally said, and turned away, face burning. Pretty shitty last words he thought, but how else would he get his point across?

"If that was a goodbye, it was a shitty one." Arthur snapped shakily, and before he knew it Alfred was being yanked towards him, and his lips were pressing against his. When they both pulled away Arthur was bright red, wiping one eye. "So when we get out of here, make it up to me."

"Got it." Alfred grinned, and thankfully, Arthur allowed a small smile. "Now, we've got some bitches to kill."

(7 hours earlier)

You could see the cloud of smoke coming from the capital a mile away. When Alfred finally pointed it out no one said anything, and Alfred tried to pretend that he didn't notice Arthur muttering angrily to himself. No one wanted to admit that they had come all this way for nothing.

When they were closer they could smell the smoke, coming off multiple buildings in waves. It was terrifying and beautiful at the same time, there was no one there to scream or cry, so the city just crackled away, the flames going untouched.

"Damn firemen, must be busy with a different section of town." Arthur cursed, and no one bothered to smash his small hopes. When they made it to the center of the city Arthur finally gave up, kicking walls and abandoned cars.

"Where the fuck is everyone!" He screamed, and no one could answer. So Francis suggested they at least look in the boss's office, just to see if he left a note. It made a bit of sense for the Minister to evacuate and leave for somewhere safer and secluded.

But when they got to the room, all they found was a body lying on the floor and a remote discarded on the desk. Alfred only felt numb, looking through the documents on the desk for any other sort of information. There was though, a map of countries that had been affected.

His place, Mexico's and Matthew's was crossed off with a big 'x', the rest of South America with a a question mark. He gasped when he saw what had happened to the Asian countries. India was gone, as was Belgium and Ukraine. He remembered the promotion from before, and felt himself go cold.

He had known that they were dead.

Most of Europe went untouched, at least what Alfred could tell from this. It obviously hadn't been updated in a couple of days. There was however, a note on the power switch. It had instructions for turning it off and on, and how a satellite controlled the energy waves above the country.

So the power wasn't turned off everywhere! Alfred allowed himself a small victory. He showed the papers to Matthew and Francis, who agreed to go and turn it back on downtown. After they left, Alfred was left alone with Arthur, who had remained silent the whole time.

"When they turn the power back on, you'll be able to call your brothers." Alfred said, trying to make the situation a bit better.

"And tell them what, that I had let another die?" He barked out a laugh, and marched out of the room. Alfred tried to be angry, but he couldn't bring himself to it. All he could see was the horrified looks of the others when they found out.

But at least he could call his boss and the other group. He told himself, and that was that.

At least until the screaming began, and then of course all happy thoughts fled from him.

"Arthur?!" He yelled, and dashed out of the room. Behind him, the Minister stood silently, and then let out an angry groan.

As Alfred practically flew down the stairs, all he could imagine was Arthur surrounded by zombies and weaponless. But what he saw wasn't Arthur screaming, but rather the zombies who were being massacred by a _very_, very pissed off Arthur Kirkland.

He had to laugh, because the sight of the living dead running from _Arthur_ was just crazy. But then the older nation started to laugh like a psychopath, and suddenly it wasn't that funny (he almost felt bad for the zombies that had decided to challenge him).

So he decided to join in, hollering and whooping along. Arthur just gave him a look, and went back to killing. But after a while he noticed that the stream of zombies were not stopping.

"How many are there?!" Alfred yelled over the noise, smashing another'd head in.

"Like I would bloody know!" Arthur screamed back, and looked around wildly. "The basement! Head for the basement!"

Without a second thought he followed his orders, turning around and sprinting for the stairs. He could hear Arthur sprinting behind him, and when he yanked the door open and Arthur flew past, he slammed the door in the face of at least fifteen zombies. He quickly locked the door and moved something in front of it, turning around and sagging in relief against the door.

Arthur collapsed next to him, breathing heavily. They fell silent until Arthur's phone beeped from his bag, and both of them grabbed it, Alfred getting it first and turning it on. When the screen flickered to life he almost laughed in joy, but when he saw there was no signal, he groaned in frustration.

"You have like fifty missed messages man." He sighed, and pulled out his own phone. "I guess this means Matthew and Francis were successful."

When Alfred's phone flickered to life as well he felt his mouth go dry, because there was nothing waiting for him. When he searched for recent calls, it was just the one from before, when Adeline hung up on him.

"Jesus fucking Christ." He cursed, and threw his phone back in the bag.

"Ireland." Arthur whispered suddenly, and Alfred turned to him, looking over his shoulder at his phone.

"Dude, what about her?"

"She's missing." Arthur said hollowly, and turned his phone off. Alfred frowned, wondering how exactly _Ireland _had been captured. He still remembered her beating him to a pulp the last time they were together.

"When was the message sent?"

"Two days ago."

"And that's the most recent?"

"…yeah."

Arthur slid to his back, head resting on the concrete floor. Alfred sighed before joining him, the two laying silently. They stayed like that for at least two hours. The groaning and screaming from upstairs had not stopped, and the American feared that it would be the last thing he heard. He had no idea where his brother or Francis was, hopefully safe and not dead. He didn't think he could make it if he had to kill them.

"The door won't last for much longer." The other nation said hollowly, breaking the silence. "We might as well try to just leave while we have the chance." Arthur looked him in the eye, his usually bright green eyes a dead dark color.

"Yeah, okay." Alfred said softly, sitting up and grabbing his bat. He paused for a moment, and felt his heart thump wildly. "Arthur?"

"Yes, Alfred?" The English nation looked up at him again, standing up and fiddling with his crossbow. Alfred felt his mouth grow dry, but he knew that it was now or never. If they didn't survive this… he wanted Arthur to know his true feelings.

"I love you." He finally said, and turned away, face burning. Pretty shitty last words he thought, but how else would he get his point across?

"If that was a goodbye, it was a shitty one." Arthur snapped shakily, and before he knew it Alfred was being yanked towards him, and his lips were pressing against his. When they both pulled away Arthur was bright red, wiping one eye. "So when we get out of here, make it up to me."

"Got it." Alfred grinned, and thankfully, Arthur allowed a small smile. "Now, we've got some bitches to kill."

And so together they moved the shelf, readying themselves.

"Ready?" Alfred asked, turning to give Arthur another smile.

"Ready." Arthur said determinedly, hands tightening on his crossbow.

And with one last glance Alfred threw the door open and the things rushed at them. Arthur shot down multiple to make a space for them to get out, Alfred swinging down on legs to at least stop them from walking.

Together they worked together like they were the same being, Alfred not remembering the last time they had done this. He remembered the French and Indian war, the way they had worked together, the pride of being in a war for the first time. The feeling he got when Arthur told him he was proud of him. It was like that, but this time all Alfred could think of was kissing Arthur again, and being pressed against him at night, and that he would get them both out of there, because he wanted to _live _dammit-

"Alfred!" He heard Matthew yell, and like two angels, Francis and Matthew descended on the remaining zombies, swinging around and shooting like mad. After at least eight minutes the battle was over, and all of them covered in blood. Alfred felt giddy with life and started to laugh, noticing that all of them were drenched in blood. He pulled Arthur to him and kissed him again, this time deeply and passionately. He didn't even care when Francis muttered 'finally' and covered Matthew's eyes.

He was just drunk on love and life, and that was okay.

Together the four of them exited the building, Alfred reminding them about cellphones, and together all of them called home. Arthur was in tears when his brother's answered, and the mood was dampened when he had to tell them about Oliver. Arthur told him that at least they had found Ireland, who was out at sea and the boat had run out of power.

It was expected when no one answered for Matthew and Alfred, and Alfred felt the mood worsen when the Canadian started to sob angrily. France's boss was frantic when he called, both of them yelling at each other in French.

Alfred decided to call Ludwig instead, and when he picked up Alfred explained the situation, and that they were probably going to head back and help them build the ships. Ludwig told them that there was already ten casualties, and quickly asked if Spain and Romano were with them.

When Alfred said no and asked why, Ludwig quickly changed the subject, leaving Alfred feeling horrible. Overall the zombies seemed to surge at once at random times, and Ludwig suggested that maybe they were being followed.

"Mattie said the same thing!" He said quickly, and after that the German hung up.

When they found a house that was out of the fire zone Alfred crashed on the couch and passed out, trying not to dream about death, and focusing on the drug of life.

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**U h Spain and Lovi are probs dead (unless someone tells me not too, which I guess I could work them into this) So please review your thoughts, I hope that was enough usuk for you, if I don't post M stuff here I'll probably put it up separately!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anyone but Ireland ;)**

_**-Talia **_


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